Kirk Douglas legacy: From Michael Douglas to Kelsey Douglas, where are his sons and grandchildren now
Legendary actor Kirk Douglas has passed away at the age of 103 on Wednesday, said his family. Among his many accolades were being one of the biggest names among the American leading men of the mid-20s with strikingly attractive features that made an entire generation of fans swoon over the star.
And even though he was the self-proclaimed 'most disliked actor in Hollywood' with Burt Lancaster once remarking how all his claims of being 'a very difficult man' were true, tributes pouring in from his family members, especially equally illustrious son Michael Douglas, speak at length about the family man the actor always was.
Taking to social media, Michael stressed how "to the world, he (Kirk) was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in setting a standard for all of us to aspire to."
"To me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great-grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband," he added. The emotional tribute goes on to highlight the wonderful relationship Kirk shared with his four sons, their partners, and of course, the seven grandchildren he had from his sons Michael and Peter Douglas.
The world knows Michael Douglas for his acclaimed work in Hollywood with the 75-year-old American actor and producer having bagged two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B DeMille Award and the AFI Life Achievement Award.
As the elder son of Kirk from his first marriage to Diana Douglas, Michael is married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones since 2000 and have two children: son Dylan Michael, 19, and daughter Carys Zeta, 16. Michael's eldest son Cameron is from his first wife of 18 years, Diandra Luker, the daughter of an Austrian diplomat.
Kirk's other son from his marriage to Diana is Joel Douglas, a film producer. Married four times, Joel chose not to follow his father and elder brother's footsteps to the center stage and chose to work behind the cameras instead. Producing several films throughout the 1970s and 1980s, much of Joel's work revolves around his family, including acting as co-producer on 'The Jewel of the Nile' and 'Romancing the Stone'. Joel was also an assistant director on 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and in 2003, he served as associate producer on 'It Runs in the Family', which starred Kirk, Michael and Michael's son Cameron.
Peter Douglas is the elder song of Kirk and his second wife, the German-American producer Anne Buydens. As a well known American television and film producer his credits include 'Inherit the Wind', earning him the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama or Comedy Special, and 'Amos', which was also Emmy-nominated in the same category.
Among his motion picture credits is the science-fiction time-travel classic, 'The Final Countdown', in which his father starred. He has been married to Lisa Schroeder since 1991 and together they have four children: Ryan, Kelsey, Jason and Tyler Douglas.
Sadly, Kirk and Anne's youngest son, Eric, who was an actor, died on July 6, 2004, from an overdose of alcohol and drugs. But Kirk's legacy will be kept alive not only by his thriving sons, but also through his talented grandchildren, who are already making their own mark in the industry.
The eldest grandchild of Kirk and ex-wife Diana, is Cameron Morell Douglas, son of Michael with his first wife, Diandra. The 31-year-old actor has appeared in four films: Jackie Chan's Mr Nice Guy (1997), It Runs in the Family (2003), National Lampoon's Adam & Eve (2005) and Loaded (2008). Michael's other Dylan is his elder child with wife Catherine. Dylan is known for his works in 'Phineas and Ferb' and 'Formula 1: BBC Sport', while his sister and Michale and Catherine's youngest, Carys, is a spitting image of her mother as process her personal Instagram page and the fabulous galas she attends with her stunning mother quite often.
Kirk's other grandchildren are from Peter and Lisa. While the couple's daughter Kelsey Douglas is an actress and writer, known for 'Sister Shit', '1 Night in San Diego', and 'Bombora', her brothers like to maintain what is more popularly known as the down-low.